Page 4 of Darkest Sin

“What?”

“Hurry up. We don’t want to be late with dinner with your father.”

I can’t help myself: I look back again and see that the man is gone. When I meet my mom’s eyes, I see her giving me a worried look. Does she know something I don’t?

I want to ask her but I’m also worried that she’ll somehow ruin what I shared with the stranger. It’s like a dirty, exciting secret. It’s one I want to keep to myself.

We arrive back at our brownstone.

I can’t wait to rest my feet for the night. I have eight shows this week and I need my body to be ready for it.

I’m already imagining being inside my home. It’s soft color scheme, the luxury furnishings, the fact that it always smells like vanilla no matter what room you’re in.

But when we step through the door, I instantly feel that something is wrong. Nothing is amiss. No broken doors or windows. No signs that I have anything to worry about.

But then my eyes turn to the living room off the foyer and I see a man seated on our couch. It’s a man who looks a lot like my father but it’s one I haven’t seen in years.

My uncle, Denis.

He sets down the glass of whiskey in his hands and stands up, like this is his home and we’re the guests, instead of it being the other way around.

“Denis,” Mom gasps. “What are you doing here? I haven’t seen you in years.”

“Yes. That’s because Lev didn’t want me to return. But I’m back now.”

“Are you here to see Lev?” She makes a show of looking around the room. “He’s working right now. I’m not sure when he’ll be back.”

Denis smiles in a way that instantly puts me on edge. “I know Lev isn’t here right now. In fact, he’ll never come home again.”

The five of us go still. It’s like a collective movement. We all understand that this is a moment we need to be worried about. Even Ana looks up from her phone, which is a feat unto itself.

“What do you mean?” I ask before my mom can. “Where is he?”

“Dead.”

That one word hits me straight in the core. Irina gasps. Sasha’s mouth drops open. Ana’s phone clatters from her hands.

And our mom… she moves into action.

She stuffs her hand into her small purse and pulls out a gun. It’s a tiny thing but it still holds a lot of power in it.

Ana and Irina stare at our mom in shock. Sasha and I are not surprised though. We know our mom has handled a gun before. She’s the one who’s taken us to the shooting range to make sure we’re able to defend ourselves. She waited until we were eighteen, which means Ana and Irina have a few years yet before they’re going to join us in the tradition.

But now that our uncle has returned and has claimed our dad is dead, I’m not sure we’ll be continuing with any traditions for a while.

“You killed him?” Tatiana asks, holding the gun steady in her hands.

Denis raises his hands in surrender. “I did not. I wouldn’t be here right now if I did. I know you, Tatiana. I know you’re capable of killing me. Trust me. I did not kill him.”

“Then why do you look like you’re happy?” Sasha asks. “If you didn’t kill our dad.”

“My brother and I were never close. But I still loved him. He asked me to join him today. We began to discuss business. He wanted to make sure his girls were taken care of in case anything happened to him.”

“And you just happened to talk with him about that today,” Tatiana says. “The day he died.”

“It’s bad timing, I’ll admit.” He stuffs his hands into his pockets like he doesn’t have a care in the world. “But I can assure you. I did not cause Lev’s death.”

“Then what happened?” It’s Ana who asks. Even though she’s only fifteen, she has courage in her voice. “How did he die?”